You have to treat it as a crime scene until you rule that it was not.”Bob Long, Hanceville Police Chief
HANCEVILLE – On Wednesday July 15, a house on County Road 522 in Hanceville caught fire. Around 2:30 p.m. the Hanceville Fire Department responded to the incident.
“When we arrived on scene we found a single story structure house with a full basement fully involved with fire and flames coming out the roof and a caller stating that there could be a person inside the residence,” stated Hanceville Fire Chief Rodger Green.
The Johnson Crossing, Garden City, and Dodge City Fire Departments were also called out to assist.
The Fire Marshal received notification and, after the fire was extinguished, performed a search around the perimeter with the assistance of the Cullman County Rescue Squad and a Cullman Police Department helicopter.
No persons were found near or around the residence at that time.
After the fire had cooled down the following morning, the Hanceville Fire Department started searching through the charred debris.
Around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday investigators discovered human remains. Cullman County Coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick collected the remains and sent them to a forensic lab in Huntsville.
The Alabama Fire Marshal's Office, Fire Marshals from Cullman Fire Department, the Hanceville Police Department, and a fire investigator from the Cullman Sheriff's Office are investigating the incident.
According to the State of Alabama Fire Marshal's website the name of the deceased is Deborah Betty McIntosh.
Hanceville Police Chief, Bob Long, stated, “We’ve called in the Fire Marshal and really turned the investigation over to him. You have to treat it as a crime scene until you rule that it was not.”
Two Hanceville firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.
“I would like to thank Cullman County Water Department, Cullman EMS, Cullman County EMA, Red Cross, Fire Marshals, and Cullman County Sheriff's Office, Dodge City, Garden City and Johnson Crossing Fire Departments, Cullman Police and Hanceville Police Department, and our department and volunteers for their long hours spent at the scene during this intense heat. There was a team effort put into this situation with all agencies and community coming together to make it happen,” said Green.
